Man Shot, Killed by Oakland, BART Police ID-ed

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Oakland police have identified a man fatally shot by police Saturday morning after reportedly charging at an officer with two knives as 48-year-old Fred Collins, a police spokesman said today.

Officers received a 911 call at about 8:10 a.m. that Collins, an Oakland resident, was armed with knives in the 3200 block of East 12th Street, Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said.

Oakland police responded to the area and notified BART police as a courtesy due to Collins' proximity to the Fruitvale BART station, Thomason said.

Two BART police officers who happened to be in the area spotted Collins, who matched the description of the suspect, and tried to stop him.

Collins, however, ran away from the officers to 34th Avenue where an Oakland police officer, who had arrived in the area, tried unsuccessfully to subdue him with a Taser gun, Thomason said.

Collins then ran north on 34th Avenue and turned west on East 16th Street, and then south on 33rd Avenue where another Oakland police officer used a Taser gun on Collins, which also turned out to be ineffective, according to Thomason.

Officers said Collins was holding a knife in each hand and charged at the officers, who opened fire on him. Three Oakland and two BART police officers shot Collins, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Thomason said.

No officers were injured in the incident, he said.

Oakland homicide detectives, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and the internal affairs units of the Oakland and BART police departments are conducting administrative investigations into the shooting, Thomason said.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is urged to contact the Oakland Police Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821.